Spiced basmati and smoked quinoa rice balls with apple ketchup

Not yet rated

These ingenious basmati rice and quinoa balls are a little like Italian arancini, but make the most of aromatic basmati, Middle Eastern spices and molten mozzarella cheese for a fascinating twist. The apple ketchup on the side is spiked with ajwain seeds, which have a flavour similar to thyme and star anise.

First published in 2019

Ingredients

Metric

Imperial

Apple and ajwain ketchup

Rice balls

Equipment

  • Blender

Method

1
To make the ketchup, place the apples, sugar, ajwain seeds and vinegar in a saucepan and set over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and cook the apples until they are very soft
  • 150ml of cider vinegar
  • 350g of Granny Smith apple, peeled and cored weight, finely sliced
  • 150g of caster sugar
  • 1 tsp ajwain seeds
2
Drain the apples, reserving the liquid in the pan. Place the apple mixture into a blender and blitz until smooth. Add the lemon juice and enough of the reserved cooking liquid to reach a thick ketchup-like consistency. Store any extra ketchup in an airtight container in the fridge for a week or so
3
To make the rice balls, melt the coconut oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 4 minutes, then add the spices
4
Continue to cook until the onion softens completely. Add the rice and quinoa, mixing well, then add the stock. Bring to the boil, stir, and reduce the heat. Cover with a lid and cook gently until the rice is tender and the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat, spread out on a tray and place in the fridge to cool for at least 1 hour
5
Preheat a deep-fryer or deep pan full of oil to 180°C
  • oil, for deep-frying
6
Shape the rice mixture into 30g balls and push a piece of mozzarella into the middle of each one, making sure it is completely covered in rice. Dust the balls in polenta and deep-fry until golden and crisp
7
Serve immediately with the apple ketchup

Whether you call it 'fusion', 'global' or 'basically indescribable' is beside the point; Anna Hansen's food is without a doubt fresh and adventurous - you might even call it modern.

Get in touch

Please sign in or register to send a comment to Great British Chefs.